Too close to home
by ArcticIcicle
Summary: A case hits a bit too close to home for Ben. Kind of a sequel to Light the Fire Son.


**Half of this was written late at night and the other half was written out of boredom waiting for my boiler to be fixed.**  
**This is kind of linked to my other fanfic 'Light the fire son' but a bit darker.**

Ben Jones cursed as he stumbled along the pavement away from the pub he was just in. He might have had a bit too much to drink but honestly, he couldn't care less right now. It had been a tough day... scrap that, it had been a tough week. It had been the shittiest case he'd had to deal with for a long time and Barnaby hadn't made it any better.

It all started 6 days ago, on a rainy Sunday evening. Young woman was murdered in Midsomer Magna. She had 4 knives sticking out of her chest when Ben arrived on the scene. It only got stranger from there. Another murder the day after. The first victim's boyfriend found dead with one knife in his stomach and another right in his mouth. The young woman, who was the first murder victim, had a little sister who was hiding something, Ben and Barnaby could tell. They thought she knew who might have killed her sister but no.

The case took a turn for the worse when Barnaby and Ben walked in on the father beating up the little girl with a belt and a rolling pin. Barnaby was the one to get the man away from the poor girl. Ben just froze. Eventually, after Barnaby yelling at him to "not just stand there", he put the man in handcuffs and took him away while Barnaby dealt with the girl. Barnaby gave Ben quite a stern talking to later on for not doing his job right. If only Barnaby knew... There was a bit of an argument between them but everything turned out fine in the end.

They caught the murderer, which turned out to be the first victim's neighbour and the poor girl was saved from her hellish household. Barnaby had called it a day not long after they interviewed the neighbour. Ben on the other hand had stayed a while longer in the station, thinking over the week's events. He eventually left for the pub and had drunk 2 whiskey's and almost 2 pints of beer before the bartender suggested that it was a good idea to go home. Ben agreed and here he was now, trying to make his way home while drunk and sad. He had clearly underestimated how far his house was from the pub he was at. He grumbled to himself and cursed, again. He began to think of what alcohol he had at home. He just wanted to drown his childhood memories in that moment but no amount of alcohol could make him forget or change the past.

After stumbling along for what seemed like forever, Ben arrived at his house just before it got too dark. He fumbled for his keys, dropping them a few times before he actually got them in the keyhole. Tripping through the door, Ben searched for the light switch. He swore it had moved place. Finally there was light and Ben could see the way to the kitchen. Firstly, he checked the fridge for any booze but there were none. Next were the cupboards. He growled as there was no alcohol in sight. He gave up and just sat on the kitchen floor, exhausted and defeated.

Then his phone rang. Ben took a deep breath in and scowled. He fished out his phone from his pocket with great difficulty. If this was Barnaby he would seriously... it was Barnaby. Ben hesitated, he wasn't in a good mood or a fit state to talk to anyone or do any policing. He reluctantly answered.

"Hello?" He tried not to sound drunk but he was sure he failed.

"Jones, sorry to bother you but Sarah wanted to invite you over tomorrow night. I'm asking now because she's going shopping tomorrow morning" Barnaby sounded relaxed and rather happy.

Of course it was Sarah that wanted him to come over. It was never Barnaby himself inviting his sergeant over "Sounds great" Ben slurred.

"Jones, are you drunk? You're slurring a bit" Barnaby asked.

"Mmm fine sir. Do not worry" Ben mumbled out sounding way more cheerful than he actually was.

There was a pause. Barnaby hummed "You sure you're alright? Where are you now?" Ben could tell there was a hint of concern in Barnaby's voice but he didn't want his boss to worry. Unfortunately, his mind was not really in the right place to say that he was actually fine or rather not fine.

"I'm on the kitchen floor, sir. Doing just fine. My arse is cold though"

"Ben, get yourself to bed please. Don't make me come over there" Barnaby said in his commanding voice.

Ben wasn't listening to a word Barnaby was saying. His mind had wondered off, back to the case, back to the poor girl and how he shouldn't have just stood there.  
"Mmm sorry for being shit at my job, sir" he said sadly.

"Don't speak nonsense, Jones..."

"I shouldn't let personal feeling get in the way...sorry" Ben cut Barnaby off.

There was another pause from Barnaby. What personal feelings? Ben didn't know the victims. Maybe it was the way they were murdered? Or was it something to do with the girl and her abusive father? As far as Barnaby knew, Ben wasn't in a relationship so it couldn't be a domestic violence thing. Barnaby was brought out of his thoughts by Ben deciding to end the call "Well, sssir I must be off. See you tomorrow" Ben quickly hung up. He struggled to his feet and made his way upstairs to his room, falling face first onto the bed. In no time at all, he was asleep.

Barnaby was concerned. He definitely had to have a talk with his sergeant in the morning. He went to bed feeling uneasy and his thoughts racing with what Ben meant by 'personal feelings.'

Ben woke with a start, groaning at the sound of his alarm. His head was pounding, no surprise there. He rolled off the bed and slammed his hand down on the alarm. He trudged to the bathroom and looked in the mirror, he looked like he had been dragged through a bush backwards. He went about his normal morning routine. He took some aspirin and set off for the station, dreading seeing Barnaby.

Barnaby was already at the station awaiting Ben's arrival. There wasn't that much paperwork to do and that could wait a while. He needed to talk to Ben about last night. When Ben entered the office, a part of him wanted to turn and run but he had to face Barnaby at some point. Barnaby had noticed Ben had entered the office and motioned for him to sit down.

"How are you feeling this morning?" Barnaby asked calmly.

"A bit rough but I'm fine sir, honestly" Ben replied.

"You know I need to ask you about what you meant by personal feeling, right?"

Ben sighed "I know, sir."

"Please be honest with me, Jones" Barnaby said sincerely.

"The father who was abusing the girl... it was... a little too close to home for me" Ben admitted "In my teens, my dad was quite violent towards me" Ben said bluntly not wanting to say the word 'abuse'. He ducked his head, not wanting to look at Barnaby.

Barnaby looked at him sadly and with deep concern "You should have told me. I could have taken you off the case if you wanted. I'm sorry that happened to you, I really am" Barnaby put his hand on Ben's shoulder.

Ben lifted his head up "I never told anyone... until now" he confessed. Barnaby was shocked and saddened that Ben felt like he couldn't tell anyone, not even the police.

"Thank you for telling me, Ben. We'll talk more later if you want. And don't forget, you're having dinner at mine tonight" Barnaby smiled.

Ben chuckled "Thank you, sir."  
He was lucky to have such an amazing boss and friend.


End file.
